1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of combusting waste material or other prepared fuel. In particular, this invention relates to incinerator systems and methods of combustion which provide for substantially total combustion of the fuel or waste material within a furnace and the cleansing of the exhaust gases prior to passage to the atmosphere. More in particular, this invention relates to waste material incineration systems which maximize the time that the combusting material remains in the combustion zones in order to substantially fully create total combustion. Further, this invention pertains to incineration systems where there is provided particular geometrical contouring and air insertion techniques which cause vortexing patterns to be applied to the combusting waste material for maintaining such combusting material within the combustion zone for increased intervals of time. Still further, this invention relates to incineration systems which incorporate within the furnace a particulate removal system to remove particulate matter and uncombusted material from the initial combustion zone. Still further, this invention relates to material incineration systems which provide for downstream cleansing operations to further cleanse the exhaust gases prior to emission to the atmosphere.
2. Prior Art
Incineration systems for prepared and unprepared fuels such as waste material and methods of combusting the same, are well-known in the art. The closest prior art known to Applicant includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,939,781 and 4,119,046, which have the same Patentee as this invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,046, there is provided an incineration system and method wherein material is vortexed in a longitudinally directed furnace system. However, such prior art system does not provide for a helical vortexing of the material being combusted which increases the time interval that the combusting material remains in the combusting zone. Additionally, this prior art system does not provide for a particulate removal mechanism for removing particulate material directly from the first combustion zone. Still further, this type of prior art system does not provide for a further cleansing of the exhaust gases prior to egress to the atmosphere.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,781, there is provided an elongated incineration system which does rely on vortexing of material within a combustion zone. However, such vortexing is provided in a manner where the vortexing is about a central axis line of the defined longitudinal direction of the incinerator. Such vortexing does not provide for a vortexing pattern which maximizes the time interval within which the combusting material is maintained within a combustion zone. Additionally, such prior art system does not provide for the continuous particulate removal system located below the combustion zone to continuously remove contaminants and particulate material from the initial combustion zone.
In some other prior incineration systems, materials being combusted are vortexed for predetermined intervals of time, which are empirically derived. Such vortexing for specific intervals of time does not maximize the combustion efficiency of such systems. Thus, in such prior art systems, the vortexing itself is directed to a time interval and is not directed to the primary function and objective of maintaining the combusting material in a combustion zone until it is fully or substantially fully combusted. In such prior art systems, products of combustion have been found to be composed largely of non-combusted material.
In still other prior art systems, material being combusted is vortexed during the combustion process. However, these prior art systems merely vortex and then remove the partially combusted material. These prior art systems do not provide for re-circulation of the combusting materials until such are substantially fully combusted. Thus, such systems generally include large amounts of non-combusted materials found in the end products of the incineration systems.
In other prior art incineration systems, there is no vortexing of the combusting material and the material is merely inserted into a furnace and then impinged by a flame front for some predetermined time interval. In such cases, there are large quantities of material which are not fully combusted during the incineration process.